This is not the year-end message I wanted to send. Instead of a rousing appeal for support for our plans, I have to be the bearer of terrible news.

Our young, bright and passionate executive director, Becky Tarbotton, died suddenly on Wednesday, overwhelmed by the surf on a sunny afternoon in Mexico while on vacation with her husband, Mateo Williford, and a circle of her closest friends.

As you can imagine, we are in shock. The world is less bright today. Just 39, Becky was a rising star in our movement. She was in charge of RAN???s campaigns until three years ago, when the Board asked her to lead the organization. In a few short months, she established herself as a truly catalytic leader???a brilliant and effervescent campaigner who captivated, motivated and delighted everyone she met.

Just last Friday, Becky and I met for our monthly lunch in my role as Chair of the Board. I considered our meetings over a meal to be the best part of my work here, and Friday was no exception. Our lunch turned into a three-hour festival of ideas, plans, speculation and debate over her luminous and transformative vision for the Rainforest Action Network.

???I love this job,??? she said. ???I love what we are trying to do.??? And then she thanked me for having her back, as she put it. As if being swept along behind this supernova of a woman was anything but a blessing and a delight, one of the greatest of my life.

Now is our time to mourn. I’m not sure how long that will take. The San Francisco staff and friends are gathering tonight at my house, and friends and supporters around the country are pausing to honor Becky’s life and everything she meant to us.

Here???s what I do know: What Becky brought forth for us, and for the community of people and organizations around us, is a matchless vision. ???What we’re really talking about, if we’re honest with ourselves, is transforming everything about the way we live on this planet,??? she said in a speech at our annual dinner just 10 short weeks ago. ???We don’t always know exactly what it is that creates social change. It takes everything from science all the way to faith, and it’s that fertile place right in the middle where really exceptional campaigning happens???and that is where I strive to be.”

I also know that under Becky???s leadership this year, RAN secured one of the most significant victories in our organization???s 27-year history: After 18 months of negotiations with RAN, The Walt Disney Company agreed to stop buying paper for its global operations from endangered rainforests in Indonesia and elsewhere. Under Becky, and with your support, we moved a $40 billion corporate giant to change its business practices and stand up for rainforests.

One of Becky???s many, many virtues was that she was unaware, in a most self-effacing and authentic way, just how deeply loved and respected she was as a leader and a visionary in our large and growing community.

Becky is survived by her husband, Mateo Williford, who works to advance solar power at Sungevity, her mother, Mary Tarbotton, and brothers, Jesse Tarbotton and Cameron Tarbotton. Our hearts and love are with them through this devastating time. If you would like to send anything to her family, colleagues, and friends, please send to RAN at 425 Bush Street, Ste. 300, San Francisco, CA 94108. We will ensure they are delivered.

I hope you will continue to join RAN as we remain committed to the course that Becky set for all of us. We will continue to focus on our core purpose of protecting forests, moving the country off of fossil fuels and defending human rights through effective, innovative and hard-hitting environmental corporate campaigns???campaigns powered by people like you.

Many of you have probably been here before. Life is full of tragedies, big and small. Reach out to people you love, and remember how much is at stake, for each of us, and for the Earth.

Becky often said that we are in this for the long term. And so we are.

Thanks for being a supporter of ours, and of all the groups like us. There is so much to be grateful for, even now.

THE CENTRAL COAST JUNG SOCIETY & CUESTA COLLEGE FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY PRESENT a celebration of the ROSELMA QUINN MEMORIAL LIBRARY COLLECTION featuring over 500 books and writings by C.G. Jung, his Colleagues and Associates

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 5-7PM in the Cuesta College Library. This free, special evening will include lively, informal talks and dialogues, music, snacks, and a review of the collection

FREE PARKING IN LOT 2

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On display at this event will be a special art installation by Steven Boothe. Come meet the artist and learn more about Steven’s art.

Artist Statement:

Layers of memory

A mixed media collage of vintage photographs suspended amongst layers of material mounted to the wire frame of an old box spring mattress stood on its’ end.

My intent is to represent the layers of memory formed through the experiences and circumstances associated with the passage of time. In this piece are featured a handful of different material artifacts arranged in such a way as to evoke both consideration and reflection of our own place in the present milieu of both local and world events.

Steven Boothe is a full-time artist working with the elements of being a husband, a dad, and a classified computer technician here at Cuesta College. He occasionally updates a blog at BootheFam.com.

Theme and description: “Writing is painting with the gift of speech. United by this shared theme, this exhibit at the Steynberg Gallery in San Luis Obispo, will provide the selected artists the opportunity of displaying their varied approaches to giving a literary excerpt shape. The resulting art, inspired by words, promises to produce a compelling and memorable show.” ~ Jayne Behman, Exhibit Coordinator

Personal statement: The opportunity to produce work with a literary connection had a strong appeal for me. I have been struggling with both feelings of anguish and desire to find an appropriate response to the many human and environmental dilemmas I feel burdened for while at the same time trying to balance my effort to produce beauty and love in maintaining the health of my own family, friends and co-workers as well. So as I often realize my myriad of short-comings, I am left with frequently reflecting on my priorities by asking myself this recurring question: “Why do I do what I do?”

Along this theme, this last year, I dedicated significant time and energy to understand and participate in the art of protest through the Occupy Wall Street movement. I met many people with extraordinary hearts and talents as we attempted to face the many varied and difficult challenges together. One of these people whom I developed a great fondness and respect for is a visual artist and poet named Justin Gorman-Regier.

Among the first memories of Justin is an encounter in which he showed me some of his small format ink drawings on mat board which immediately reminded me of Jean-Michel Basquiat who used to sell his own small format work as cards on the streets of New York. However, what struck me about the beauty and depth of Justin’s work at that time was the strong element of poetry which he had incorporated into his work as well. In fact, as it turned out, I discovered it is poetry which Justin has spent the majority of his time practicing and refining over the years.

So it is when faced with the need to consider a literary work as inspiration for this exhibit, that the moment I remembered Justin, I called him. But there is more to it than that. Justin and I have shared time together discussing the grief of watching elements of our society self destruct while asking ourselves how to best respond. So, beyond the significant practice, expertise and depth of emotion which Justin brings to his work, it is also this strong connection and harmony of concern with my own, our mutual anguish and quest to find the best response, which I believe makes this pairing of physical and literary sculpture so special.

For instance, consider this first of three stanza’s that Justin wrote for the exhibit:

“If we were fields of falling minds, flying are the tries that we seem to have, Some have more, some have less, But mental’s are a mess, so stress these Things meaningless and full of the blessed, Angelic lives, stubborn butterflies, this light Is so dark, so hearts are gathered in these storms Disarm or the karma of man will shutter the times, These minds find wine like ages, these minds die, So go these lives, these harbored signs, Dancing through the times, blind, fight to free Your mind, or climb, designs these days, Breathe through the masks, it is all a task.”

All three of his stanzas will be available for reading as part of the exhibit. My sculpture stands about 18″ high and is cylindrical at about 5″ wide. It is made from nearly 100% reclaimed materials consisting of hard drive magnets and computer mouse balls applied to some kind of drive shaft. I then used the magnets to fashion a cradle at the top for an old computer track ball to rest with another piece of metal containing an aperture fixed adjacent to it. I then folded up all three stanzas of Justin’s words and stuck them to the side so that they could be easily removed, read, and returned while considering the whole piece.

Most committee members, organizers, instructors and facilitators are non-paid volunteers who share a strong sense of community, a passion for photography and a love of our area???s abundant natural beauty.” (http://morrophotoexpo.com).

First I would like to say that I love the Morro Bay Art Association. I have personally known the excitement and joy of submitting artwork for their yearly Scholarship Exhibit in which all students from around the county are invited to not only show their work together in a juried exhibition and a beautiful venue, but do so with the knowledge, love and support that many scholarships will be awarded each year. So to all the staff, volunteers, and sponsors of the Morro Bay Art Association, and the Morro Bay Photo Expo, a huge vote of gratitude. Thank you all so much for helping bring these events together for the community each year.

Next I would like to attach a few images I created just a few minutes prior to this presentation.

And finally a few screenshots from my presentation for those who wish to follow up later to review the apps I prefer.

These selections were read by Steven Boothe on the occasion of Art After Dark, March 2nd 2012, at the San Luis Obispo Historical Society commemorating the Cuesta College Book of the Year[1]: In The Neighborhood by Peter Lovenheim [2]